Eight UK universities are set to benefit from a capital investment of £50,000 and additional funding after being awarded ‘Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research’ status by GCHQ.

The universities aim to aid GCHQ’s cyber defence mission

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Eight UK universities are set to benefit from a capital investment of £50,000 and additional funding after being awarded 'Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research' status by GCHQ.

The universities include University of Bristol, Imperial College London, Lancaster University, University of Oxford, Queen's University Belfast, Royal Holloway, University of Southampton, University College London.

By conducting world class research in cyber security, the new centres of excellence aim to enhance the UK's cyber knowledge base, provide the field with graduates and support GCHQ's cyber defence mission.

This announcement forms part of the government's cyber security strategy that was announced in November last year, which intends to make the UK a secure place to do business in cyberspace and more resilient to attacks.

"Britain has one of the largest online economies in the world and a growing cyber security sector. Supporting universities to carry out more research and training skilled graduates to work in the cyber security industry will help build further confidence in doing business online," said David Willetts, Universities and Science Minister.

"There was strong competition among universities to be selected as a Centre of Excellence in cyber security research and I congratulate those who have been successful."

The universities will not only benefit from closer collaboration with GCHQ, but they will be given the opportunity to formulate the future Cyber Security research agenda and receive extra funding opportunities, including an initial £50,000 capital investment.